the Plaine Corail Airport, in Rodrigues, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from Airports Holding…
(No. B/1195) Mr F. François (Second Member for Rodrigues) asked the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister of Finance, Minister for Rodrigues and Outer Islands whether, in regard to the Plaine Corail Airport, in Rodrigues, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from Airports Holdings Ltd., Airport of Mauritius Ltd. and Airport of Rodrigues Ltd., information as to whether the issue of insufficient parking space thereat will be addressed pending the implementation of the new airport development project, indicating – (a) the number of parking slots currently available for motorcycles, vehicles and buses, and (b) whether consideration will be given for the provision of additional temporary parking slots along the Route de l'Autonomie and/or opposite or adjacent to the Plaine Corail Police Station.
Reply: I am informed by Airport of Rodrigues Ltd that no complaint has been received regarding insufficient parking space at the Plaine Corail Airport. This has also been confirmed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. With regard to part (a) of the question, Plaine Corail Airport has a parking capacity of 120 slots as follows – (i) Cars/Hatchback/Pick-up/SUV - 88
141 (ii) Motorcycles - 25 (iii) Buses - 4 (iv) Taxis - 3 The fees charged for parking are Rs20 for Cars/Hatchback/Pick-up/SUV and Rs40 for bus/lorry/minibus. It is free for motorcycle. These fees are fixed and have been last reviewed in the year 2012. My attention has been drawn to the inefficiency in the management of the parking space thereat. The following issues have been noted – (i) fixed nominal parking fees irrespective of duration of parking time; (ii) absence of control in the parking area with an average of 39 vehicles parked for more than one day, and (iii) collection of fees manually by a parking collector during flight operations only. To address these issues, Airport of Rodrigues Ltd is proceeding with the reallocation of existing parking bays, thus releasing approximately 25 parking slots currently used by airport personnel, for the public. Staff vehicles will be relocated to a designated green space area. In addition, appropriate tariffs would be introduced for long-term parking. Daily and overnight parking rates will be implemented within the next six weeks. Prior to their application, an information and awareness campaign will be rolled out to ensure users are adequately informed. Moreover, a time-based charging system supported by automated parking management equipment will be introduced within six to nine months, to streamline entry, exit, and fee collection. With regard to part (b) of the question, Airports of Rodrigues Ltd will coordinate with the Rodrigues Regional Assembly and the Police to secure temporary parking facilities in designated spaces opposite and adjacent to the Plaine Corail Police Station, should the need arise. I wish also to inform the House that the New Runway Project at Plaine Corail makes provision for 223 parking slots for the public. INCOME SUPPORT SCHEME – BENEFICIARIES